Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 December 2021
276. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of approved undergraduate places, first year intake, and final year graduates, graduate output, for dentistry, dental hygiene, and dental technology in each of the past five years in tabular form; his plans for increasing graduate output in this field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60929/21]
View answer277. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of approved postgraduate places, first year intake, and final year graduates, graduate output, for dentistry, dental hygiene, and dental technology in each of the past five years in tabular form; his plans for increasing graduate output in this field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60930/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 276 and 277 together.
Data on new entrants, total enrolments and graduates from all dental studies related courses between from 2016 to 2020 are available in the table below. Due to the way new entrants are recorded, undergraduate new entrants refer to full-time students only. There is no quota placed on dental courses by my Department, and therefore the places offered are a matter for the higher education institutions, in line with their autonomy. However due to the high level of practical work involved there are material constraints on the number of students that can be accepted onto dentistry courses.
|
Year |
Course Level |
New Entrants |
Total Enrolments |
Graduates |
|
2016 |
Undergraduate |
179 |
712 |
208 |
|
2016 |
Postgraduate |
13 |
58 |
30 |
|
2017 |
Undergraduate |
145 |
675 |
251 |
|
2017 |
Postgraduate |
32 |
66 |
31 |
|
2018 |
Undergraduate |
172 |
690 |
204 |
|
2018 |
Postgraduate |
39 |
75 |
27 |
|
2019 |
Undergraduate |
176 |
715 |
208 |
|
2019 |
Postgraduate |
30 |
67 |
16 |
|
2020 |
Undergraduate |
171 |
714 |
208 |
|
2020 |
Postgraduate |
25 |
73 |
5 |
The matter of health workforce planning and ensuring an appropriate pipeline of qualified healthcare workers within Ireland, is a major priority for my Department. The Programme for Government commits the Department of Health to working with the education sectors, regulators, and professional bodies to improve the availability of health professionals and reform their training to support integrated care across the entire health service. My Department and I are continuing to engage with the Department of Health and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can continue to deliver graduates with the skills necessary to support our healthcare system and support the strategic workforce planning by the health sector.
